Yep, I actually heard that from someone this week who brought me a little yellow-rumped warbler. The caller said she saw the bird in the yard and her cat seemed “interested” in it and then chased it and caught it several times, “just playing with it; he didn’t mean…” She trailed off. I gritted my teeth and told her that the bird needed antibiotics if it had been in the cat’s mouth at all. When I got the little warbler, her left wing was all but ripped off at the wrist.

Her right wing was missing most of its feathers.

All her tailfeathers were gone.

I showed the lady the damage and explained that her cat had effectively killed this bird and she asked, “Well, can’t you just put it in a cage?” “Ma’am, imagine that your hand has almost been severed at the wrist and someone just stuck you in a room.” “Well, I mean treat it, of course.” “Ma’am, there is no treatment for this. This bird will never fly again, and if I attempted treatment, all I’d be doing is prolonging her agony.” “Well, what will you do, just put it somewhere until it dies?” “No ma’am, I’ll end her suffering as soon as I get her home. This is what happens when cats are allowed outdoors. It’s safer for your cat and the wildlife in your yard if your cat stays indoors.” “Well, I hate you can’t help the poor bird.” Notice there’s no expressed remorse that the cat she carelessly allowed outdoors maimed this poor bird to the point that it required euthanasia. Folks, I have cats. I love my cats. And because I love my cats, they remain indoors, safe from predators, traffic, parasites and lousy weather. And because my cats are indoors, the only predators my wildlife faces are those they’d encounter in the wild—natural predators, such as owls and hawks. I cannot stress it enough: CATS BELONG INSIDE. It’s safer for them, and it’s damn sure safer for wildlife. Shortly after this warbler's needless death, a game warden from several counties south of me called with an injured osprey. This poor bird looks to’ve lost a battle with a bald eagle. He’s ripped open from his neck to just above his shoulder.

The wound was fresh when he came in, the blood still sticky, and there was some swelling, so vet Richie Hatcher of Smalley’s Animal Hospital in Dublin recommended no sutures to begin with. The wound needs irrigating daily, and the bird is on a strong antibiotic to prevent infection. The problem is that as the swelling has gone down, I’m seeing a wound I don’t think we can fix. I’ll be taking the osprey back in Monday for further evaluation, but I suspect, looking at this wound now, that we may be fighting a losing battle.

There is some good news in this otherwise horrific week, however: the downy GHO continues to amuse me with his goofiness. As his vision sharpens, he’s transfixed by shadows. I’m trying to feed him and he’s head-bobbing and beak-clicking threats at his own shadow. And feet—oh my God! He has feet! And they’re amazing to watch! He stares at his feet without moving for minutes on end…His feathers are coming in nicely, though. Thank God feather growth doesn’t require smarts; he’d be so out of luck…

And the little flyer continues to grow. She’s still mostly in the “eat and pass out” mode and not really interested in solid food yet, but she’ll get there!

Please see "The Evil of the Outdoor Cat" by Richard Conniff in the Sunday Review section of the New York Times, today (March 23, 2014)

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

3/23/2014 09:45:13 am

Thanks for the heads-up, Everett! For those who'd like to read the referenced article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/22/opinion/sunday/the-evil-of-the-outdoor-cat.html?_r=0

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Jan Buckwald

3/23/2014 10:16:51 am

Vonda — Great job, as usual. Treating wildlife injuries, seeing animals in pain, is difficult enough. But dealing with the irresponsibility and seemingly intentional ignorance of humans along with that must be frustrating in the extreme. So grateful you do what you do. Thank you, and thank you for posting your super informative updates and photos (even if some of the pics are not easy to look at). Much respect, Jan

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

3/23/2014 02:02:43 pm

Thanks Jan!

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Tracy

3/23/2014 11:00:28 am

I get that same respose so often. No remorse whatsoever regarding what they allowed their free-roaming cat to do but verbal abuse and even threats when I/we cannot treat the bird or small mammal that their cat has maimed other than to offer it a quick, humane death.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

3/23/2014 02:04:39 pm

Exactly...and no thought of the danger to their free-roamng cat, either. Just plain irresponsible pet owners, on top of everything else...

This comments gets me: "Well, I hate you can’t help the poor bird." Well, guess what cat lady? We hate that you can't be a responsible pet owner and keep your cat contained! Geeze!

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

3/23/2014 02:05:11 pm

Amen!

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JG

3/23/2014 12:36:21 pm

The first bird pictured is a Yellow-dumped Warbler not an Am Goldfinch.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

3/23/2014 02:09:49 pm

And so it is--duly noted and corrected in the text. Thanks JG!

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neener

3/23/2014 01:40:34 pm

So, so sorry about the cat idiot and lack of remorse. Congrats for not Eu x2!! OMG the suffering that outside cats can cause... horrible!
That eagle tore that poor Osprey up! I hope it can be saved, but kinda doubt it looking at the injury. :(
LOL at the report on the GHO! I just get a kick out of your descriptions!
That flyers' face plant is just too cute too!
Thanks for being there for 'our' critters in need. Please know that you ARE appreciated and loved for your common sense and compassion.
Thanks again!

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

3/23/2014 02:10:59 pm

Thanks neener!

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Suzy Hayes-Tripp

3/24/2014 01:48:08 am

I have invited indigenous & migrating bird visitors/& all WILDLIFE to my yard for decades. My neighbors KNOW, if your cat enters my property it is going to ANIMAL CONTROL! Interesting that out of the MANY cats I have trapped ONLY ONE OWNER has bailed out their precious kitty! The other "owners" just replace the cat or are renters and (thankfully) move! Hopefully, very soon CATS will be treated as DOGS in regards to licensing and owner's being fined if you can't keep your cat confined.

My beloved DOGS would love to run with abandon, chasing my neighbor's cats and leaving "dog doo presents in gardens & on lawns", BUT I love and care for my DOGS to much to not know where they are @ all times and protect their safety

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

3/24/2014 01:58:50 am

Exactly, Suzy--the people who allow their cats to roam freely usually aren't responsible pet owners, period.

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Jim

3/24/2014 02:48:23 am

We need more people like you Suzy! I do the same. It's the only way to protect wildlife. I can really see the change in the yard since going zero tolerance on free-roaming cats. Increased fledgling success, increased small (native) mammal) populations and more fox and hawk use of the yard. If you feed birds, you need to trap cats!

Vonda, you have your hands full and with such heartbreakers (except for the GHO, what a cutie). You are doing such a fantastic job trying to educate these morons, but I warn you: you'll hit the wall. When some idiot says "I hate that you can't help the bird" you'll end up screaming in their face "I hate that you're such a #%&*ing sadistic irresponsible #@*& and it's totally your fault that this bird is dying in agony, may you have nightmares about it every night until you die a *%$# painful death." And then their cat will do it again and they'll be scared of you, but they'll need to feel good about themselves so they'll have a friend or their husband bring you the bird. Seriously.

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Laurens Wildlife Rescue

3/24/2014 06:04:01 am

Suzie, raptor rehabber Steve Hicks and I were talking about this issue the other day, and I said people like this idiot are the reason I don't carry a gun. He snorted and said it was best for the public that I didn't pack heat! Honestly, though, voodoo dolls are SUCH great stress relief, and if you have a smartphone there are even a couple of voodoo doll apps that allow stress relief wherever you happen to be!

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Ann Feldman

3/26/2014 05:42:58 pm

There is really a voodoo doll app? Huzzah! Seriously? Every now and then I find wierdo stuff in the park, a rooster on a plate, a rabbit with a red hat half buried in the ground..